Banner hanger

ABSTRACT

Upper and lower sections of a banner hanger have retaining means for retaining upper and lower attachment elements of a banner. A tightening mechanism can be operated to wind up a lower banner portion on a roller until a predetermined degree of tautness is achieved at which time the tightening mechanism can be locked to maintain the tautness.

United States Patent n91 Bower et al.

145] Apr. 10, 1973 I 1 BANNER HANGER [76] lnvcntors: H. W. Bower, 5422 Catherine Avenue, Van Nuys, Calif.; Glenn Brannan, 6309 W. 79th Street, bos Angles, Calif. 90045 [22] Filed: June 1, 1971 [21] Appl.N0.: 148,725

[52] US. Cl. ..40/125 G, 40/145 R, 248/224 [51] Int. Cl ..G09f 17/00 [58] Field of Search ..40/125 G, 145, 128;

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,310,899 3/1967 Hart et al ..40/l25 G Miller ..40/l45 R Mollet ..40/l25 G Primary ExaminerRobert W. Michell Assistant Examiner.l0hn F. Pitrelli Attorney-Pastoriza & Kelly ABSTRACT Upper and lower sections of a banner hanger have retaining means for retaining upper and lower at tachment elements of a banner. A tightening mechanism can be operated to wind up a lower banner portion on a roller until a predetermined degree of tautness is achieved at which time the tightening mechanism can be locked to maintain the tautness.

8 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTED RWIBH .726035 Q kw} INVENTORS'.

39 H. W. BOWER GLENN BRANNAN A TTORNE Y5 BANNER HANGER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to holding fixtures and more specifically to a banner hanger for holding a banner taut to minimize the risk of its being torn by wind.

It is common practice to mount flexible banners on uprights such as poles, generally at relatively high visible locations to display company names, advertising and other information. A banner should be held straight for appearance and readability purposes and should be maintained tight in order to avoid or minimize the risk of its being torn or deteriorated either suddenly or gradually by sharp winds.

In conventional banner unit constructions, the banner has tubular sleeves or pockets formed by folding over and seaming the upper and lower margins. These tubular pockets are shaped to receive wooden pull bars which are formed with holes that must accurately register with holes formed through the pockets in order to accept a wire suspension framework consisting of hooks, rods, etc.

The seams of the tubular pockets are especially vulnerable to being ripped when the banner ripples and flops in the wind and the wood of the pull bars tends to warp upon being exposed to moisture and this produces unsightliness.

In order to change or substitute banners, the existing banner and its pull bars together with wire framework must be wholly dismantled and then wholly replaced by the replacement banner and its wooden pull bars together with the associated wire suspension framework. The replacement cost is significant both from material and shipping standpoints. Upon being dismantled neither the banner, wooden pull bars nor the wire framework are reusable and all are customarily disposed of.

As shall be fully explained the present invention eliminates the need of using wooden pull bars, tubular pockets formed in the banner and wire suspension frameworks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION upper plate having upper retaining means and a lower plate capable of being connected to an upright such as a stanchion of a gasoline filling station at a point below the upper plate. Coupled to and oriented beneath the lower plate is a roller which carries lower retaining means. When upper and lower attachment elements of a banner aresecured in corresponding upper and lower retaining means then a tightening means can be operated to exert tension on the banner until a predetermined degree of tautness is attained, at which point in time the tightening means can be locked to maintain the desired degree of tautness.

The tightening means preferably includes a detent coupled to the lower plate and a disc fixed to the roller and formed with locking openings, a selected locking opening of which may be releasably engaged by the detent to maintain the desired degree of tautness of the banner. The detent is preferably a spring connected to the lower plate at one end and formed with a hook at the other end sized for entrance into the locking holes.

The upper retaining means is a slide channel sized to hold the upper attachment element. The lower retaining means is constituted by a pair of hold down tabs that lie over the banner and engage the banner lower attachment element.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The numerous benefits and unique aspects of the present invention will be fully understood when the following detailed description is studied in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective, fragmentary view of a banner hanger constructed in accordance with this invention showing the tightening means in an inoperative condition; and,

FIG. 2 is a perspective, fragmentary, rearward view of a portion of the banner hanger showing the tightening means locked in its operative condition to maintain the banner in tension.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1 a banner hanger l isshown that may be secured to an upright 11 which, for purposes of example, may be a stanchion or a conventional post used at automobile filling stations or other retail outlets. The top section of banner hanger includes an upper plate 12 which includes a channel shaped bracket 13 with a portion removed to define gripping teeth 14, some gripping teeth 14 of which tightly bear against upright 11. A horizontally extending mounting bar 15 is formed onitsupper portion with a slide channel 16 having a relatively narrow entrance slot for a purpose to be explained. A number of nut and bolt couplings 17 (only one of which is shown) connect mounting bar 15 to bracket 13.. Couplings 17 may coact with holes formed in bracket 13 or alternatively vertical slots for increased ease of installation. A clamping band 18 is wound through a pair of slots in bracket 13 and around upright ll so that a conventional clamping mechanism 19 can be operated to tightly pull bracket 13 against upright 11.

The lower most section of banner hanger 10 has a lower plate 20 which includes a channel shaped bracket 21 formed with gripping teeth 22 and slots 23 through which a band 24 extends. Band 24 serves to clamp bracket 21 against upright 11. Another clamping band 25 having a clamping mechanism 26 is positioned above band 24 and serves as a stop to prevent upward slipping tendencies of lower plate 20.

An L-shaped mounting bar 30 is fixed by nut and bolt couplings 31 to bracket 21 and has a generally horizontally extending arm 32 that mounts a pair of spaced depending eyebolts 33 and 34. A generally vertically arm 35 of mounting bar 30 is interconnected with, by way of a conventional coupling 36, a detent in the form of a coil spring 37 having a catch or hook 38 defined at its lower end.

Underlying mounting bar 30 is an elongated roller 39 with end sections 40 and 41 suspended from eyebolts 33 and 34 respectively. Roller 39 extends through eyebolts 33 and 34 with sufficient clearance so that roller 39 may be easily manually rotated about its longitudinal axis for a purpose to be described. Fixed to roller end section 40and inwardly of the extreme tip is a disc 42 formed with a series of circularly aligned locking holes 43. As shall be explained detent 37 and disc 42 coact to constitute a tightening means.

Secured to roller 39 is retaining means in the form of a pair of elongated hold down tabs 44 and 45 that are arranged in co-linear alignment and extend generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of roller 39. Hold down tab 44 has an outer end 46 secured in cantilevered fashion to roller end 40 and a free end 47. Similarly hold down tab 45 has an outer end 48 fixed to roller end section 41 in cantilevered fashion and an inner free end 49. The hold down tabs are spaced by slight gaps along the majority of their lengths from roller 39 and their inwardly directed free ends 47 and 49 define an access opening through which the lower portion of a banner may be manually urged. Extending through the outer portion of roller end section 40 is a handle 50 that may be manually grasped and swung to rotate roller 39 through an angular displacement necessary to exert tension on a banner 52.

In order to best illustrate important details of other components of the banner hanger 10, a generally rectangular banner 52 is shown fragmented. Banner 52 is fabricated from conventional flexible sign cloth materials such as woven or unwoven cloth, vinyl or vinyl covered cloth. Banner has an upper attachment element 53 and a lower attachment element 54, both attachment elements of which are constructed by folding over the margin one or more times and/or inserting a strip of filler material. Upper attachment ele ment 53 is removably secured within slide channel 16 by slipping it into position sideways. Lower attachment element 54 is shown hanging straight down prior to being secured beneath hold down tabs 44 and 45.

An identical and oppositely facing banner hanger 60, only an upper portion of which is shown, is oriented on the diametrically opposed side of upright 11 so that banner hangers 10 and 60 can constitute a double faced sign. The same bands 18 and 24 may be used to clamp channel shaped brackets associated with banner hanger 60.

Referring primarily to FIG. 2 the banner 52 is shown partially curled around roller 39 and slipped under hold down tab 44 with lower attachment element 54 being engaged by hold down tab 44. When a person grasps handle 50 and swings it in the direction indicated by the associated arrow then roller 39 is forced to simultaneously rotate in the same direction as indicated by the associated arrow which results in banner 52 being straightened out and slightly stretched in a direction indicatcd by directional arrow T. At the point in time when the proper degree of tautness is attained then the banner 52 can be maintained in this position by inserting hook 38 through an associated locking opening 43 ofdisc 42.

OPERATION Keeping the above construction in mind it can be understood how previously described disadvantages of conventional banner hangers and sign holders are overcome or substantially eliminated by the present invention.

Bracket 13 and bracket 21 are first tightly clamped to upright 11 by bands 18 and 24 at points separated by a predetermined vertical distance. Parallel and horizontally extending mounting bars 15 and 30 are connected to brackets 13 and 21 by nut and bolt couplings 17 and 31 that may be inserted into holes (as shown in FIG. 1) or, for superior ease of installation, may be slipped in vertically oriented slots prior to being tightened. At this stage of the installation procedure the detent 37 is entirely freed from connection with disc 42 so that the tightening mechanism is inoperative.

The banner upper attachment element 53 is slid sideways into slide channel 16 which stably and securely holds the upper portion of banner 52. The banner lower portion is then folded inwardly towards upright 11 and curled beneath roller 39. Lower attachment element 54 is inserted through the axis opening defined between hold down tab free ends 47 and 49 and is manually worked until the lower attachment element 54 lies flat on roller 39 and engaged by the leading edges of hold down tabs 44 and 45. With the banner 52 so situated a person may then rotate handle 50 causing the banner lower portion to be rolled up on roller 39 until the desired degree of tautness is achieved. At that time the hook 38 of detent 37 is forced into the appropriate and associated locking opening 43 that will serve to hold roller 39 in the desired set position.

In order to remove banner 52 so that it may be replaced by another banner for example, the tightening mechanism is disconnected by way of releasing detent 37 from disc 42 which action permits the banner lower portion to be unwound. After the lower attachment element 54 is detached from hold down tabs 44 and 45 and the upper attachment element 53 is slipped out of channel 16 and the new or replacement banner can be quickly installed.

Banner hanger 10 holds the banner 52in a manner so that wear and tear are vastly diminished permitting banner life to be correspondingly extended. In the case of conventional banner hangers the banner is initially hung in loose condition or gradually becomes loose which allows the wind to flap the banner and result eventually in its being ripped. The banner hanger 10 of this invention, much to the contrary, holds banner 52 with a sufficient degree of tension to maintain it relatively flat and therefore tear resistant. When severe wind is exerted on banner 52 from a front or rear direction the banner 52 is permitted to yield as the tension of spring 37 is partially overcome but the banner 52 will be returned to its normal flattened and taut condition after the wind subsides.

From the foregoing it will be evident that the present invention has provided a banner hanger in which all of the various advantages are fully realized.

What is claimed is:

1. A banner hanger comprising:

a. an upper plate having upper retaining means and capable of being connected to an upright;

b. a lower plate capable of being connected to an upright at a point below the upper plate;

c. a roller having lower retaining means and coupled to the lower plate; V

. a banner having an upper attachment element capable of being removably retained by the upper retaining means and a lower attachment element capable of being removably retained by the lower retaining means; and

e. tightening means coupled to the lower plate and roller for tightening the banner to a desired degree of tautness.

2. The structure according to claim 1, wherein the tightening means includes:

a detent coupled to the lower plate, and;

a disc fixed to the roller and formed with a series of locking openings, a selected opening of which can be releasably engaged by the detent to maintain the banner at the desired degree of tautness.

3. The structure according to claim 2, wherein;

the locking openings are circularly aligned holes extending transversely through the disc, and,

the detent is a spring connected to the lower plate at one end and formed with a hook at the other end sized for entrance into the holes 4. The structure according to claim 1, wherein;

the upper retaining means is a slide channel with a relatively narrow entrance slot, and,

the banner upper attachment element is an enlarged margin sized to slide sideways into the slide channel.

5. The structure according to claim 1, wherein;

the lower retaining means is a pair of oppositely facing hold down tabs with inner ends defining an entrance passage for the banner, the tabs being separated by shallow space from the roller, and

the banner lower attachment element is an enlarged margin sized to be slipped through the entrance passage and beneath the hold down tabs.

6. The structure according to claim 1, wherein;

the roller is aligned beneath the lower plate, and,

the upper and lower retaining means are oriented so that the sign cloth conceals virtually all of the upper plate and most of the lower plate.

7. The structure according to claim 1, including:

clamping bands coupled to the upper and lower plates for securing the upper and lower plates to an upright.

8. A banner hanger assembly comprising:

a. an upright;

b. an upper plate connected to the upright by a clamping band and having upper retaining means characterized by a slide channel with a relatively narrow entrance slot;

c. a lower plate connected to the upright by a clamping band at a point below the upper plate;

(1. a roller coupled to the lower plate and having lower retaining means characterized by a pair of oppositely facing hold down tabs which define an entrance passage and are separated from the roller by shallow spaces;

e. a banner having an upper attachment element characterized by an enlarged margin placed in the slide channel and a lower attachment element characterized by an enlarged margin engaged by the hold down tabs;

f. tightening means including a detent coupled to the lower plate and a disc fixed to the roller and formed with locking openings, one opening with which the detent is releasably engaged; and,

g. a handle coupled to the roller for rotating the roller,

wherein when the banner attachment elements are retained by the upper and lower retaining means and the handle lS operated to rotate the roller through a sufficient distance to obtain a desired degree of tautness which can be maintained by releasably engaging the detent with a correspond ing locking opening. 

1. A banner hanger comprising: a. an upper plate having upper retaining means and capable of being connected to an upright; b. a lower plate capable of being connected to an upright at a point below the upper plate; c. a roller having lower retaining means and coupled to the lower plate; d. a banner having an upper attachment element capable of being removably retained by the upper retaining means and a lower attachment element capable of being removably retained by the lower retaining means; and e. tightening means coupled to the lower plate and roller for tightening the banner to a desired degree of tautness.
 2. The structure according to claim 1, wherein the tightening means includes: a detent coupled to the lower plate, and; a disc fixed to the roller and formed with a series of locking openings, a selected opening of which can be releasably engaged by the detent to maintain the banner at the desired degree of tautness.
 3. The structure according to claim 2, wherein; the locking openings are circularly aligned holes extending transversely through the disc, and, the detent is a spring connected to the lower plate at one end and formed with a hook at the other end sized for entrance into the holes.
 4. The structure according to claim 1, wherein; the upper retaining means is a slide channel with a relatively narrow entrance slot, and, the banner upper attachment element is an enlarged margin sized to slide sideways into the slide channel.
 5. The structure according to claim 1, wherein; the lower retaining means is a pair of oppositely facing hold down tabs with inner ends defining an entrance passage for the banner, the tabs being separated by shallow space from the roller, and the banner lower attachment element is an enlarged margin sized to be slipped through the entrance passage and beneath the hold down tabs.
 6. The structure according to claim 1, wherein; the roller is aligned beneath the lower plate, and, the upper and lower retaining means are oriented so that the sign cloth conceals virtually all of the upper plate and most of the lower plate.
 7. The structure according to claim 1, including: clamping bands coupled to the upper and lower plates for securing the upper and lower plates to an upright.
 8. A banner hanger assembly comprising: a. an upright; b. an upper plate connected to the upright by a clamping band and having upper retaining means characterized by a slide channel with a relatively narrow entrance slot; c. a lower plate connected to the upright by a clamping band at a point below the upper plate; d. a roller coupled to the lower plate and having lower retaining means characterized by a pair of oppositely facing hold down tabs which define an entrance passage and are separated from the roller by shallow spaces; e. a banner having an upper attachment element characterized by an enlarged margin placed in the slide channel and a lower attachment element characterized by an eNlarged margin engaged by the hold down tabs; f. tightening means including a detent coupled to the lower plate and a disc fixed to the roller and formed with locking openings, one opening with which the detent is releasably engaged; and, g. a handle coupled to the roller for rotating the roller, wherein when the banner attachment elements are retained by the upper and lower retaining means and the handle is operated to rotate the roller through a sufficient distance to obtain a desired degree of tautness which can be maintained by releasably engaging the detent with a corresponding locking opening. 